Now that he knew Baron Yuri was inside the building, Kendrik was beginning to have second thoughts.

Was he really sure he knew what he was doing? No, actually not at all. But Kendrik still had that idea that Yuri could be one of the good guys, kind and caring. Well, probably never exactly charming or gracious, but kind. He just wasn't sure at all he knew how to show him the way.

All he knew was that he had to try. And that meant talking to him, and skin contact. In an environment where Yuri would feel both safe and distracted.

Together with Ryan and Luca, Kendrik had gone through the old files the Secret Garden still had on Yuri's previous visits, looking for clues. He hadn't told them what exactly he was planning, only that he was looking for a farewell gift for Yuri. He was sure they had kept the worst of it from him, but even so, what little he had learned had driven his disgust about this whole place to new levels. Never the less, they had found a setting that ought to have pleasant memories for Yuri, and one that would offer Kendrik a plausible environment to put on something very close to the white uniform of House Habichtswald.

One of the many pocket universes inside the Secret Garden was a classroom. Nothing special, one would say, but this one was still in the style they would have been on a Habichtswald world before the war. The equipment, the maps on the walls, even the holographic view from the windows screamed 'Habichtswald elite boarding school'. From what they had gathered from Yuri's file, it ought to be quite the turn-on for him already.

On the little screen next to the door, Kendrik could see a servant leading Yuri inside that very classroom he had booked for tonight. Seeing Yuri and knowing that he was on the other side of the door Kendrik was waiting at by now was sufficient to allow him at least a vague sense of Yuri's emotions. And right now, the old man was startled out of words, surprised and confused; unease and anticipation battling inside. He didn't know what to expect, and in Kendrik's eyes, that was a very good thing.

For a moment longer, Kendrik watched as Yuri walked through the room, reminiscing, trailing his fingers along the desks, the blackboard. He smiled when he found the cane, sitting in its corner by the teacher's desk. Finally, he paused at one of the large windows, looking out onto the school yard and the orchards beyond, at the gently rolling hills under a bright blue summer sky.

Taking this as his cue, Kendrik took a last deep breath and opened the door in front of him. It led into a short corridor that in turn led into the classroom Baron Yuri was waiting in right now. Stepping inside, Kendrik had to concentrate hard not to break into a beaming grin at Yuri's audible gasp, followed by a deep wave of surprise, awe and desire.

"Master Principal," Kendrik said as firmly as he could manage. "You demanded to see me."

Still standing at the window, Baron Yuri grabbed the windowsill for support, his mouth working soundlessly. Kendrik could feel him struggling with what he saw, and that meant he had picked exactly the right outfit for this occasion.

Naturally, the Secret Garden had a whole host of Habichtswald uniforms, and quite a lot of them cadet uniforms of the various military schools the House had supported. But military hadn't been the right tone for what Kendrik was planning, so he had picked something a little different.

Standing at the rear of the classroom, Kendrik was wearing the outfit of a school's polo team captain, the cap in his hands, complete with gloves and skintight pants and riding boots, his hair in a neat braid on his back. And of course, the uniform was all in white, except for the crest of some very posh, very old, and very extinct Habichtswald elite school on his chest. If he had guessed right, 'Habichtswald school team captain' had to be as close to Dracon catnip as possible.

And by the prolonged, stammering silence of Baron Yuri, his assessment seemed to have been spot on.

"You!" Baron Yuri finally pressed out, torn between disbelief and excitement. "You... are... a very naughty boy. So very naughty."

The last words had been more of a compliment than an insult. Baron Yuri was clearly impressed, and that in itself was a remarkable feat.

"Master Principal," Kendrik replied, trying to match Yuri's expectations as closely as possible. "I really don't see what I have done wrong."

"Oh, I am sure there is something, else we wouldn't be here, would we?" Yuri replied smoothly, almost growling. Maybe it had been decades that he had used this classroom to play, but he still remembered the game perfectly. "Why don't you tell me?"

"If you are referring to what happened in the showers, Master Principal, I can assure you that there was nothing questionable involved." Kendrik replied, still acting defiant. "Just a few blokes having fun after a game."

Luca had drilled at least a the most important Habichtswald signal words into Kendrik at the very last moment. Apparently, there was also a sort of accent that would have suited his role nicely, but Kendrik knew that his acting skills were rather limited. He would have to be content with what he could wing by and cheat a little by glossing things over with his psionic skills.

"A few blokes?" Yuri replied, chuckling both with amusement and disbelief. "Let me guess, you were all naked."

"Some of us were dressed, at least in parts," Kendrik denied, more and more getting to like this game. "We were taking a shower, as it is only proper after an exhausting game."

"I see." Still chuckling, Yuri walked over to the teacher's desk and leaned against the corner. "Tell me what happened then."

His voice had taken a deeper note, interested now in what Kendrik had prepared for him.

"Nothing," Kendrik replied, trying to stay in character. "We... were wrestling, in the showers, just for fun. And then one of the boys got a little more excited than the others."

"Excited? What exactly do I have to understand there?"

"He got... excited." Trying to look embarrassed, Kendrik made a rising gesture with his hand. "You know, like boys do."

Despite trying to keep a straight face, Yuri couldn't suppress another chuckle. But he caught himself quickly enough and returned to his role of stern headmaster.

"How improper," he proclaimed, though again it sounded just a bit more fascinated than appalled.

"We were just joking about it," Kendrik continued, "but all the attention only seemed to make matters worse."

"Oh I can imagine that."

"It turned out to be contagious, somehow, Master Principal."

"I see." By now, Yuri had the 'grim teacher' voice down pat. "Let me guess, from there you decided you take matters in your own hands?"

"So you are telling me that my polo team horned each other up in the showers and then initiated a little circle jerk until the coach came in?"

For whatever reason, Kendrik managed to look positively mortified when he looked up again at Yuri.

"That... is a very crude way of wording the events," Kendrik replied, scraping by at the edge of his acting skills. But so far, Yuri didn't seem to mind, actually, he seemed rather comfortable with the whole setup. His mind was roiling like a cloud, aroused with the imagery Kendrik offered him both real and in his little story, and the options he was seeing ahead.

"You are aware that I will have to punish you, aren't you?" Yuri asked, a note of anticipation in his voice. "Harshly. As your team's captain, you will have to take full responsibility for your team's actions."

Pretty much as Kendrik has expected, the first option Yuri saw was to add some sort of violence and domination into the game. But Kendrik had no intention of playing meek. Instead, he was trying to teach an old dog a new trick. A very old dog, at that, and a very unheard-of trick.

"Of course I take full responsibility, Master Principal," Kendrik replied, still in perfect keeping with what Yuri expected of him. "But please tell me, Sir, what have we done wrong?"

This, now, was neither overwrought propriety of the Habichtswald nor lewd invitation to Dracon violence. Yuri, already half-way across the room towards the cane, blinked at him in consternation.

That settled, Kendrik forced himself back into his role, licking his lips as if remembering something entirely inappropriate but oh so delicious. "It felt so good, Sir, and we all had so much fun. How can that be wrong?"

For a moment, Yuri was visibly struggling to reconcile the voices in his head. On the one hand, he was well in the mood to slap down Kendrik for his insolence, for his audacity to change the way this game was played, and then flog the living daylights out of him as it was only proper. But on the other hand, there was a tiny voice inside of him insisting that maybe, he was old enough to dare walk in a new direction, even though he had no clue where this would lead. And besides, it wasn't as if the last dozen of slaves he had beaten black and blue had brought him any particular pleasure.

Silently, Kendrik tried to concentrate and reach Yuri with his psionic powers. But each time, he felt convinced he could only fail, a sentiment he had by now learned only too well meant that he was unable to overcome the local background radiation. It worked easily enough when he was singing, but that would somewhat defy the purpose of the whole setup here. Kendrik knew that once Yuri was sufficiently aroused and focused on Kendrik, it would have the same effect. Luca had proven that particular trick often enough. But right now, Yuri was still too guarded, slightly too caught up in his old routines to notice Kendrik as a proper person, to build up that personal connection that was so important.

"Master, of course I know we were just fooling around, there," Kendrik tried another angle. "We are just boys, after all. Maybe, if we'd have someone to teach us..."

This time, Yuri blinked and gave an insecure smirk. Kendrik could feel that he was out of his waters, but not necessarily opposed to what Kendrik was implying. He just had no idea how to react. This wasn't the way he had ever played this.

"Master, you are such a good teacher, I promise this would be a lesson I'd not doze through," Kendrik continued, shifting his weight in a way that would nicely pronounce his skin-tight outfit. "And I bet you are very experienced..."

Kendrik managed to bring out the last sentence almost as a hungry purr, and it finally did the trick. As if a spotlight turned into his direction, he could feel Yuri's attention latch onto him, not his body or the role he presented, but HIM. Instantly, Kendrik could feel Yuri's emotions much more clearly, and finally he had a chance to manipulate them.

"So, if I wanted to make you feel good," Kendrik continued in that low purr that was more hungry cat than insecure schoolboy, "How should I start?"

Yuri still looked at Kendrik a little at a loss, not really sure what to say. But now that Kendrik had him on a leash, he was not going to let him go again any time soon. Slowly walking over to Yuri, Kendrik made sure the Noble remained fully concentrated on his arousal, allowing Yuri's unspoken desires to influence how he walked, how he presented himself. It seemed the old man was immensely turned on by a slave who didn't fear him even though he was intelligent enough to know the risks, who took him on as an equal, not in rank, but as a human, and didn't act cowed or impressed by his antics. The fact that Kendrik was a lot taller, younger and impressively athletic helped quite a bit, too.

But somewhere, in the depth of his mind, Yuri also knew that Kendrik didn't find him appalling, didn't do any of this because he was forced to or thought he had to. In his eyes, Kendrik was a man who just wanted to share a good time with him, no strings attached.

And that was something so unheard of, so barely credible, that it was sexy all by itself.

"Would you like me to touch you, Sir?" Kendrik asked when he was about a step away from Yuri. "Or would you rather touch me?"

Almost imperceptibly, Yuri shook his head, still wondering what exactly he was doing there. Almost cautiously, he reached out and touched Kendrik's chest, his palm resting against the fabric of his shirt.

It was a simple gesture, just a man feeling for the warmth of another body. But through their empathic connection, Kendrik realized just how alien this was to Yuri.

He had never before been intimate with anyone he didn't own in one way or another. He had only touched them with the desire to control, to dominate, to hurt. He had never been touched with anything but fear or aggression. The way he just looked for physical contact with Kendrik was the first time in his life that he felt there might be anything else worth trying.

It was kind of hot, Kendrik suddenly realized. A two-hundred-fifty year old virgin.

"Do you like touching me?" Kendrik asked, softly, taking great care not to become too sappy. Getting Yuri to accept anything near real tenderness would need a miracle, not a pretty psion. "It's a hot body, I agree with you."

Yuri chuckled softly. "Indeed it is." His voice sounded husky, hungry, while he let his hand wander down Kendrik's stomach. "Why do you do this?"

"Because I want to." Kendrik could clearly feel that the time for playing dress-up was over now. "You're quite a bastard, but you're not evil. I want to get to know you."

If there was a spark of distrust in Yuri's mind, Kendrik quenched it instantly. Right now, he believed every word Kendrik said.

"You're not my usual type," Kendrik admitted, firmly taking Yuri's hand and putting it where the tight material of his shirt had slipped out of his pants and exposed half an inch of bare skin. "But I am curious. And this is how I will learn most about you."

"So that is why you picked the classroom," Yuri remarked, silently impressed that he always forgot Kendrik was a lot smarter than the usual whores he had known in his time. Pulling Kendrik closer by his belt, he asked: "Tell me, how is this going to continue?"

"No idea," Kendrik replied with a wide smile. "But you've been staring at my body ever since you've spotted me in the shadows of the strip club. So why don't you take a closer look and see if it's all you were looking for?"

Yuri gave a sound that was half laughter, half hungry growl. The fingers of one hand still hooked in Kendrik's belt, he looked at Kendrik's eyes, as if trying to find some sort of answer there. Kendrik could feel he was searching for a reason why Kendrik was doing all this. Knowing that he wasn't particularly attractive and hadn't been exactly charming, there was still a spark of nagging distrust in the back of his mind, a tiny, relentless voice insisting on telling him someone like Kendrik had to have some other kind of motive.

"Don't tell me you are worried I have some weird, sinister agenda for doing this," Kendrik said, just a little mocking. "Can't you really believe I like my job? You've got such big balls for me; it's starting to turn me on, too." Smiling, Kendrik added a little, self-conscious shrug. "Makes me something of a slut, but that's a good thing in this job."

With a tiny, insecure smile, Yuri nodded. Of course, Kendrik's story was quite thin, and he did INDEED have other plans - but as they were now close enough for their auras to overlap, Yuri couldn't help but believe every word that Kendrik said, as long as they were at least partially credible.

So when Kendrik took Yuri's free hand and put it down onto his crotch, Yuri didn't hesitate. Instead, he took a deep breath and relaxed, finally accepting that there was something good happening to him, something that he had neither forced nor bought.

And damn, he was hot for Kendrik. His mind was so consumed with lust that some of it even spilled over to Kendrik's mind. When he said earlier that Yuri's desire turned him on, Kendrik had thought it a convenient lie. Right now, it was true, even though it was only a side effect of their empathic connection that Kendrik could have easily blocked. But why should he have? It didn't do any harm, instead, it made it a lot more interesting for Kendrik, and so much easier.

With a grin that matched Yuri's, Kendrik stretched and started unbuttoning his polo shirt at a maddeningly slow pace, taking a lot of time to make sure he had Yuri's full attention. Also, he used the time to try and ensure Yuri was not only mentally aroused, but also physically. It was only a matter of fanning the little sparks that were already there, of making sure there was enough new stuff that Yuri could desire and make him ignore everything that was just the same old to him. It took quite a bit of concentration from Kendrik, but on the other hand, slowly taking off a shirt wasn't exactly rocket science.

Once finally shirtless, Kendrik flung the surprisingly small piece of fabric across the room, where it landed on the bust of some ancient military leader of the Phoenix Empire.

"And now you," he said, looking down at Yuri, who blinked at him, having been completely absorbed in staring at Kendrik's pectorals.

"What?"

"Now you get rid of yours," Kendrik repeated, playfully snipping at one of the buttons of Yuri's open uniform jacket. "Quid pro quo."

"I think that would be quite the turn-off for both of us..." Yuri replied, not shy or sad, but rather matter-of-factly.

"You still haven't understood a word that I said, have you?" Kendrik answered, and before Yuri could say another word, Kendrik had grabbed him by the lapels of his jacked and hoisted him up onto the teacher's desk.

"What the hell - " was all Yuri could say before Kendrik had grabbed him by the neck and sealed his mouth with a kiss. Not a tender, loving one, but the kind of kiss that spoke of desire, of the urge to get as much physical contact as humanly possible. For a heartbeat or two, Yuri was completely overwhelmed. But then he just let go and kissed back, throwing his centuries of trained paranoia overboard. He wanted Kendrik in every way possible, and a good fuck or whatever this was leading to was pretty much on top of that list.

From there on, there was very little need for words.

Swiftly, Kendrik had peeled Yuri out of his jacket and started opening the buttons of his black shirt, ripping off the fickle things as often as he didn't. Yuri, in turn, had his hands all over Kendrik's chest and back, a little clumsily trying to work around their height difference, but not really caring about appearances any longer. When Kendrik finally got him out of his shirt, Yuri had almost managed to open Kendrik's belt, and chuckled audibly when Kendrik pushed him back onto the table.

"Holy fuck," he remarked huskily, "the last time I've been that hard must have been three Emperors ago."

Sharing Yuri's arousal through their connection, Kendrik didn't find anything weird or off-putting at the remark. Instead, it was just a good thing, two horny men sharing their hottest sex in a long time. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kendrik realized that even now, he couldn't see Yuri as unpleasant as he had thought he would. Yes, Yuri was an old man with big belly and spindly legs, but there was still the memory of a younger Yuri present through their connection, a memory of the young hunter who had managed to capture the first dakka plant in the history of Serin. Also, Yuri was filled with images of Kendrik, a brazen and fierce creature that was smart and delicate enough to wrangle an old brute like Yuri into a state of slobbering excitement. With both of it filtering into Kendrik's mind, he didn't even have to put on a performance any longer. He really, really wanted to fuck now.

With a guttural growl, he bent down and kissed Yuri's chest. He could see many old scars, so faded they were almost gone, but still each one was telling a story. Just like the scars on his own body, at least, those few the medics of the Phoenix Tower had left. Kendrik reached down between Yuri's legs, and found his cock as hard as his own. And what a nice cock Yuri had, Kendrik realized with slight surprise. Of average size, but straight and thick and just the right tool for quite a lot of naughty fun. The fact that Yuri himself was rather speechless about the fact that he was hard as a rock made it all the more a turn on for Kendrik, each of Yuri's stifled groans cheering him on, massaging his dick through the fabric of his uniform pants.

With something of an effort of will, Yuri sat up again, a dirty grin plastered across his face. It made him look rakish, as if he was loosing a few decades with every minute he was spending with Kendrik. His eyes were all over Kendrik, taking him in with the clear intent not to forget a single second of this. His hands, though, were quietly busying themselves with opening Kendrik's belt and opening his pants, quite expertly freeing Kendrik's cock from its confines.

Kendrik growled again as he felt the cool air around his cock and the rush of turning fully hard. With a smirk, he returned the favor and opened the trousers of Yuri's uniform. He had to struggle somewhat with the bulky underwear, which clearly showed Yuri hadn't expected to end up naked tonight. Stepping closer to Yuri again, he rubbed their dicks against each other, both hot and hard, grinning at the way Yuri's eyes lost their focus. He reached down and took both their dicks into his hand, massaging them together.

Through their connection, Kendrik could feel Yuri realize that Kendrik had no intention of letting Yuri fuck him, and he struggled with the fact for a moment.

"How... How are we going to proceed?" Yuri asked finally, his voice husky, his face leaning against Kendrik's shoulder. "Do you have a plan?"

"No plan," Kendrik replied, his free hand hold Yuri's head against him, almost embracing him. "Just going to do what feels good."

Instead of an answer, Yuri gave a soft moan. "This is quite good already..."

Kendrik knew that somewhere deep in the back of his mind, Yuri was wondering why on earth he didn't insist on Kendrik spreading his legs for him. But that voice was easily pushed further back into the dark and silenced for good. They were both turned on, they were both enjoying what they did, and there was nothing wrong with not fucking. Besides, Kendrik insinuated through his empathic connection, Yuri was a Dracon. He didn't care one bit about what was proper and what not. If he decided not to rape this slave today, who would dare to tell him otherwise?

"Look at me," Kendrik commanded, and Yuri followed almost instantly.

Through his eyes, Kendrik felt like he could see directly into Yuri's soul, strong and vast, but desolate and dry. At least, it had been desolate until he had met Kendrik. Now his fascination was bringing life to him, excitement and insecurity, wonder and anticipation. And Kendrik had full intention of building on that.

"Lean back," he ordered again, gently pushing Yuri back onto the desk he was still sitting on.

With a swift motion, Kendrik got out of his pants, which thanks to some nifty velcro seams worked without having to get out of his riding boots first. He climbed on top of the desk next to Yuri, smiling widely as he felt a wave of admiration pour over him. Kendrik propped himself up on one elbow, looking down on Yuri, playfully laying his leg over Yuri's.

"You are so beautiful," Yuri said, insecure as to how to make an honest compliment.

But Kendrik beamed in reply, making very sure Yuri realized how much that meant to him on an emotional level.

"Thank you," he replied, reaching down and starting to stroke Yuri's cock again. "That is very kind of you."

Yuri only smirked in reply, but inside, Kendrik drove this very point home with all the empathic muscle he had. If you were nice to people, nice people did nice things for you. And to you. And it could be better than anything you could get by force. Carefully, Kendrik embedded this cognition in Yuri's mind, tying it down with the pleasant memories they were making right now. Yuri didn't care one iota if this wasn't the usual service he got from the whores in the Secret Garden. The feedback loop Kendrik had established between them kept both of them turned on like teenagers, each one hot and horny because the other one was hot and horny, and happy about it.

And it had the nice side effect that neither of them was in the mood for anything prolonged. Instead, Yuri grabbed for Kendrik's cock and started massaging him as well, not fast, but firmly, their eyes locked in a way they could feel each other's arousal as directly as with their hands. After a few moments, Kendrik slung his free arm around Yuri's neck and pulled him closer, until they could feel each other's breath, their mouths open, panting.

It wasn't easy for Kendrik to keep things as controlled as he wanted them to be. He had to keep up the feedback loop while at the same time making sure that he didn't share his own thoughts and emotions with Yuri too obviously. Also, he tried to make this one of the best orgasms Yuri had had in a very long time, to make this a memorable event that would last as a long-term anchor for the new ideas he was planting in Yuri's mind, and all that while someone was quite expertly giving him a handjob.

In the end, Kendrik focused exclusively onto their approaching orgasms, making sure there was nothing but their mutual arousal passing through the empathic connection. Still with their eyes locked, they approached their peak in tandem, Kendrik trying to make the last moments last as long as possible, those precious seconds where one hovered at the edge of the cliff, not yet falling, but already beyond the point of no return.

When finally Kendrik couldn't hold it any longer, he released his grip on Yuri's mind. They both came instantly, simultaneously, hard and loud and jerking with the intensity that wrecked their bodies, uncaring about anything else.

For a long moment, they lay beside each other, still panting, smiling.

Turning around to face Kendrik, his expression was full of honest surprise and intrigue. "Damn you are one hot item. No wonder your owner doesn't want to sell you, even though you're a complete moron when it comes to being a proper pet."

Yuri blinked, twice, taken aback at the realization that this was the first time in his life anyone had ever thanked him for the good sex.

"You are welcome," he replied, a little hesitant.

Kendrik beamed at him, once more using this little moment to cement Yuri's newfound conception that being nice might lead to nice things in return. Even if it merely was an honest smile on a pretty whore.

"So, do you have other plans for tonight?" Kendrik asked, still smiling. "I am free tonight, and as long as you don't have to be off on some sinister business, we could spend some more time together. I would like that."

Again, Yuri blinked insecure, but smiled, too. "Yes. That would be nice, I think."

"Great." Sitting up, Kendrik stretched like a cat. "So what about we clean ourselves up and then we go for dinner?"

"Fine with me."

"Have you ever had Youh'Kai barbecue? It's hot, but pretty awesome."

"No, never." Even without their empathic connection, it was pretty clear that Yuri considered such food way below his status.

"Great, than that's what we'll have tonight," Kendrik decided for the two of them, his grin showing Yuri that he was quite well aware that this wasn't even remotely how a pet was supposed to act. "I think I overheard someone talking about the Garden having a proper sh'been, and I'd love to try the food there."

"Do I get any say in the matter?" Yuri inquired, only half-mocking.

"No." Kendrik bent down and kissed Yuri on the cheek. "But you get to decide where we'll go after that."

Shaking his head, Yuri seemed rather smitten with the turn of events.

"You are one of a kind, you know that?" he asked, quite honestly wording his feelings.

"You have no idea." Still wearing nothing but his white riding boots, Kendrik winked and grabbed Yuri by the belt of his trousers. "Come on, I'll show you the way to the showers."

No, I think it's your first time, too. Thanks, JP, and welcome to our little corner of the multiverse. Please feel free to ask when anything feels unclear or I skipped some information. The Phoenix Empire is a big place by now, and as you can see, I really cherish each chance of talking about it. ^^

Very interesting that the only way into Yuri's mind (or perhaps the easiest way) was to have some sort of sexual encounter. Glad someone 250 yrs old can get it up and have a good time!! LOL. Fun chapter. I loved the role play, have always loved role play (is that TMI?).

I'm in Canada for the week visiting dear friends, relaxing, having fun reading... Lookng forward to the wrap up of the last chapter soon!!

Oh, you can bet your little ass on that. Colin and Yaden were basically cackling in the background when I wrote this, gleefully discussing what kind of costumes they would have to get so Kendrik would have a nice assortment ready when he comes home. Even Jennifer was really, really enthusiastic, and usually she is just as uptight as Kendrik. Well, at least she was. Her husbands are quickly eroding that part of her. ^^